Going out with a BANG!
by ComixFan1224
Summary: Roy Harper is finally back together with his girlfriend. Things seem to be going good for him, until he figures out a dream he's been having. He knows he's going to die. But how is he going to leave this earth? With a bang or a whimper?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the plot.

This story coincides with another story of mine, **Little Miracles**, and is connected to chapters seven, eight, and nine of that story. If you haven't read it yet, you could be in for a treat. If you have, well, now you still get Roy's side of the story.

This story is in Roy's POV.

Going out with a BANG!

Chapter 1

The name's Roy Harper. I'm a police officer and part of the Star City bomb squad.

Today, I'm not in Star City. I'm in Metropolis, and I gotta say, it's beautiful outside. Inside Conner and Cassie's apartment, though, it's pretty awkward.

Right now, I am standing in front of Donna Troy. She's my ex-girlfriend and the love of my life. She doesn't know about that second part.

Seriously, is it possible for a person to become even more gorgeous since the last time you've seen them? Cause Donna always does.

I scratched the back of my neck.

"So…how're things going with…" Damn. What was that idiot's name? Mike? Carl? Ed? Andy? Jason?

No, Jason's Dicks' first adopted brother. Donna wouldn't go out with him.

What the fuck was her boyfriends name?

"Terry?" She spoke up, an eyebrow raised.

That's it! Terry! I hate that guy.

"He and I broke up about eight months ago," She continued to tell me.

"Yes!" I yelled. Oh shit! I yelled that?

Okay, gotta think of think of something quick to explain why I did that. "I mean: Yes! That's right! You two broke up eight months ago. Kory had told me that a while ago, but you know how busy things get."

Whoo. Dodged that bullet.

I gave Donna my most irresistible smile to help her believe my lie. She just put her hands on her hips in return.

Okay. She knows I was lying. Gotta change the subject quick before she starts to question me on it.

"So what are you doing in Metropolis?" I asked her. Why the hell did I lie? She knows me so well that even after a year apart she could probably still tell when I'm lying.

"A few of my photographs are being inducted into the local art gallery. I'm here for the unveiling."

"Way to go, Donna! I told you one of these days you'd have your photos up." She's so freaking gorgeous. She probably has another boyfriend already though. It's too soon to bring that subject up again though and-oh yes! She's leaning in for a hug! Finally I can touch her without probably weirding her out.

I sigh as I rest my chin on her hair. Still smells like melons. Still fits in my arms like a glove.

She's still perfect.

And I'm still not. I've learned to live with that.

"So what are you doing here?"

Dammit, she pulled back.

"Dick's brothers got kidnapped, so I dropped by to help. Conner and Cassie are letting me stay with them."

Silence.

I hate silence.

Gotta keep my eyes on something else, though. Now we're still only a few inches apart and I know that if I look into those deep ocean blue eyes, I'd lose control. She's the only girl-no-woman, that has been able to drive me crazy, like this. All I have to do is be near her.

I don't know how she can even stand to be near me, after all the things I did to her. Just when things were really starting to go great between us, I had to be an idiot and mess everything up. I got caught up with my fight with Ollie and didn't give her as much attention as she deserved, but she still stuck by me. Until the drugs.

I took heroine for a couple of months after that. Gave into peer pressure. Being stuck in my own despair, I let my so-called friends talk me into taking drugs and drinking. I never was an alcoholic, but I did become an addict, for a short period of time.

When Donna found out, she tried to talk me out of it. She got Dinah and Hal to try to help too. To keep me off the stuff, but it never worked. We got into this huge fight and…

I hurt her.

I was high and pissed that she was taking away my one "escape" from what was happening in my life. I just pushed her back into a wall and held her there, bruising her arms, until I saw tears in her eyes. That's when I finally realized what I had been doing. That the only way to truly escape my problems were to face them.

I looked at my hands, then to her arms to see the bruises already begin to form. Then…I ran.

I ran to an Indian reservation, where I worked on cleansing my mind and body from the potent drugs I had taken. I spent about a year there, figuring things out. When I came back to Star City, I joined up with the police department and worked my ass off to turn my life around. I've visited schools and talked to druggies that have been caught, and tried to turn their lives around as well. I know I've gotten through to a few, but I know others won't realize what they're doing to themselves, and the people who love them, until it's too late.

"I haven't had a boyfriend since Terry," Donna finally ended the silence.

Damn. As always, it's like she was reading my mind.

I couldn't stop the grin from coming and-unfortunately-I looked down and locked eyes with her. Deep blue eyes that I always end up lost in. It's no different this time.

Slowly, our eyes close and we lean in. Her lips are just as soft as I remember them as well.

How could I have gone over five years without her in my arms?

And, of course, just as things get more intense, someone has to show up and ruin it.

"Well, I definitely didn't expect to be greeted by this sight."

Donna and I immediately jumped apart and looked at the door. I spotted the bag coming toward me just in time to catch it before it could hit my face.

"Especially since I thought Cassie and Conner lived here."

Damn you, Dick. You have the worst timing.

Okay, now it's time to just play it smooth.

"Conner's at work and Cassie's at the store," I told him as I dropped his bag. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He just smirked. He was going to have some fun with this.

Why did he have to be the one to catch us?

At least Conner would-… Okay, maybe it's better that it was Dick and not Conner, but Cassie would have probably… Oh who the hell am I kidding? I'm lucky it was Dick who caught us! At least he'll only joke about it for a few minutes! Conner'd never let me live it down and Cassie would probably throw me out.

Hmm…then again…

"Work. I guess you didn't hear about Tim and Jason."

That's Dick. Ask him a question he'll give you a short answer, just to cut down on time. He's like that. Always has to keep everything timed in his head at all times. Never really takes a few moments to just sit back and relax. Or at least that's how he used to be before I introduced him to Kory. Now he's only like this when work is involved, he doesn't want to talk to you, or he doesn't know what to say.

"No, I heard. I just thought the Great Dick Grayson would be at the crime scene for hours before actually coming by to say 'Hi' to his friends." Now I'm in my comfort zone.

See, people act differently around other people. Like with Donna, I'm well, nervous-especially after that kiss-but I know that I can be completely honest around her. With Dick, I like to keep things to a minimum, and it's the same for him with me. We talk about work mostly, some things about our current private lives, but there are some tings we don't like to talk about. My addiction would be one of them. Even though, being the master detective he is, he could probably figure out exactly what happened during that time, all he like to keep in mind is that my "friends" back then had tried to pressure me into drugs. Somewhere in that large brain of his, he knows I actually took 'em, but he ignores that part. I don't know why and I don't care.

"Well, you've never been one to think too much, now have you, Roy? It's really not surprising you ended up being wrong." Shit, he's slick. He rarely jokes, so it's easy to forget how good he is at it. If it wasn't for that smirk, no one would be able to tell. Except maybe Kory, but she'd probably also need a few extra years to figure it out.

"Like you're always right." Hah! Got him there!

"What are you here for? Other than to reconcile with Donna, of course."

Fuck. Didn't expect him to use that as a comeback. Wait a minute. Didn't he just change the subject?

Great! Now I can definitely get him wi-

"You know, before either of you pull me into this anymore than I already am, I'm gonna go," Donna cut in before I could respond. She walked the few remaining steps over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek, and I couldn't help the small smile that began to form. "We'll talk later."

Of course that's when it ended all too soon and she walked over, hugged Dick, and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. And here I thought I was special.

"I'll see you later, Dick. Nice seeing you again."

"You too," Dick replied before taking a seat on the couch.

With that, she was gone. It's all Dick's fault.

"So, back together?"

"I don't know. You kind of interrupted us before we could talk about it." I took a seat in the chair across from him.

"No, I interrupted you before either of you could jump out of your clothes and have wild sex right here in the middle of the living room floor."

Hmm, he's got a point. I hate it when he has a point.

"We would have talked about it after," I told him, shrugging it off.

"So, I thought she was hooked up with…Terry Meltzer?"

Terry Meltzer? Oh yeah, the asshole. So that's his last name!

"Wow, you are way behind on her love life! She and Terry broke up eight months ago! She's been single ever since." Of course he doesn't have to know that I just found that out a few minutes ago.

"So then she must have broken up with him-"

"A couple of days after our stakeout." I'm guessing here. Again, he doesn't have to know. He's already right about everything! Speaking of which, that just reminded me about my original comeback. "By the way, I'm here to help you."

He raised an eyebrow in response. Alright! I threw him a curve that he sure as hell wasn't ready for.

"Your brothers just got kidnapped, Dick. I told my Commissioner that I needed to come help you out with it." Now that's the truth.

"And seeing Donna again…?"

"I had no clue she was gonna be here." That's the truth too. Although I do have mixed feelings about her being here, but I'll have to sort through those later.

"Why's she here?"

"Art gallery thing. She's actually having a few of her photographs in it."

"Way to go Donna."

"That's what I said!"

"Was that before or after you started shoving your tongue down her windpipe?"

I rolled my eyes. Of course he's gotta bring that up again. It's not my fault she tastes so good that I feel like I can barely get enough of her. "Just shut up."

He laughed in response.

Dick and I have always had completely different methods towards girls. While I'd flirt with them constantly, he'd pretty much stand off to the side and "play hard to get." That's what the girls would say. Truth is, just he wasn't interested. That's it. Plain and simple.

Now that I look back on it, I can see why. All those girls would do was just follow him around and be willing to do anything for him. They were pretty and easy, which is why I went after them when I was growing up. Ollie was the one that taught me to do that. I hate him for it. It's one of the reasons I originally had a hard time getting Donna to go out with me in the first place.

We've known each other since we were kids, so it wasn't any surprise to her when I started going out with those bimbos and became a player. She couldn't really blame me either, since that's kind of the way I was brought up. Ollie was always bringing easy girls home.

The thing that finally got her to agree to a date with me, was me practically begging her. It showed her how much I really liked her and wasn't looking for a relationship that I shared with those other girls.

I can't put all the blame on Ollie. I was the idiot that followed his example. If I hadn't, maybe none of this crap would have happened.

But then again, maybe it still could have.

Either way, it's all in the past now. Time to focus on here and now.

"So, you came here to help me. Why?"

Ugh. Dick's always thinks there's gotta be a reason for everything. He's always looking for some kind of ulterior motive for something. Then again, with all the psychos he deals with, it is pretty understandable. It's his job to figure things like that out. As for me, I shoot first and ask questions later.

"Why shouldn't I?" I gave him the 'are-you-stupid?' look. "Dick, you're always there for me when I need you, this time I get to be there for you."

"Why do you do it, Roy?"

Okay, I know I gave him the answer to this question a few months ago. Like I said, he and I usually just talk about work and keep the personnal stuff to a minimum.

Dick should seriously take a look in the mirror, cause he's just like the crooks he fights. He always has a reason for something. Just like they do.

"What do you mean?" I gotta find out why he's asking me this before I can answer.

"Why do you risk your life every day?"

"Because it's the right thing to do and because I wanted to make a difference in people lives." Ask a simple question…

"How do you do that?"

Oh, you've gotta be kidding me.

"What are you asking me for? It's the same for you Dick. I mean, think about it. Before you took that time off, only a few crooks were able to get out of jail, more officers started actually doing the right thing, and people looked to you as a hero. A light in a dark place. Now look how things are in Gotham after you were gone for only what? A month, month and a half. A dozen of Gotham's worst criminals are on the loose, people are scared again, and the people that stood up were taken down quickly.

"You're a hero, Dick, and you inspire other people to stand up for good! You make a huge difference in people's lives! You've always done that. You started with Bruce, Jason, and Tim, then Kory, then you went on to help change Gotham."

"What do you mean I started with Bruce, Jason, and Tim?"

Damn. He's stupider than I thought.

I couldn't help but laugh before answering, "Come on Dick, I thought you were smarter than this.

"Before you became a cop, Bruce never donated to the force to get them new equipment. You changed his thoughts on how bad the Gotham police force is. If you never knew that, then you must not read the business section of the paper.

"Since you never talked to Jason these past few years either, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know you changed his thoughts on cops too. He found out from Babs that you were the one that caught that sniper who had tried to kill him-"

"Babs has a big mouth," He cut me off.

Yeah. She does have a big mouth.

"No duh. Anyway, you're also like Tim's role model. You always have been. He looks up to you and follows your example. Just like your kids.

"Everyone knows about that little story your mom used to tell you, Dick-again, Babs." He nodded in understanding. "Anyway, to everyone around you, you are that little miracle. That start of hope, cause that's what you give us. Hope that someday there will be more selfless cops out there; hope to be strong against even the toughest foes. The point is, you're everyone's little miracle and everyone else is yours. Everyone around you keeps you grounded and open, because without Kory or your kids, your brothers, Bruce, Selina, everyone, you'd just be this guy that had nothing to fight for.

"That's the answer you were looking for, wasn't it? Why you get up everyday to fight?"

I may not be a detective, but I'm not stupid. Man, maybe I do know Dick better than I thought.

Again, we're stuck in silence. But, unlike the silence with Donna, this one's much more comfortable. At least it is to me.

Finally, he broke it.

"I hate you."

I laughed.

Well, that wasn't surprising. Of course I know he doesn't really hate me. He's just joking again.

The door opened again and I looked back to see Cassie walk in with her arms full of grocery bags.

"Oh look, two more men living in my home for who knows how long," She said as she entered the apartment, putting on a sarcastic smile. "Get off your asses and help me with the groceries if you want to keep living in this apartment."

"You're just as nice as ever, aren't you?" Dick replied, getting up.

"Only around you, Dick," She shot back as she handed him two of the brown bags. He tossed one to me before bringing the one he was holding into the kitchen. I just continued to chuckle as I got up and followed.

Once we finished helping her put the groceries away, I went to the couch to take a nap. I haven't even been here for a full day and I was already wiped out. Usually, I don't dream when I'm napping. That's probably because when I take a nap I'm really half asleep, that way it won't be too hard for me to wake up in case of an emergency. It was different today, though.

I was in an old apartment building. Dust was everywhere, and so was blood. Suddenly, I felt something hit my left arm. I looked down at it, but there was nothing there. Then it started to feel numb. I blinked rapidly as the room began to spin before complete darkness overtook me.

"Time to wake up, sleeping beauty," I heard someone joke. When I opened my eyes I found Conner standing above me, with a grin on his face. "Donna called a little while ago. Said she wants to meet you for dinner, loverboy."

Okay, that woke me up.

"Where? When?" I asked quickly as I practically jumped off of the couch and tried to fix my hair and tuck in my shirt. I ended up making myself look worse since I had been trying to do both at the same time. "What'd she sound like?"

"What? Are you expecting her to be a clone or something?" Conner joked. "Listen, I didn't talk to her; Cassie answered the phone. But I'm sure if you asked her, she'd tell you Donna sounded like Donna."

"Funny, but you know what I meant," I told him before looking around the apartment wildly. "It wasn't that big, so it shouldn't be too hard finding Cassie in-

"She's in the bedroom, finishing up on some homework," Conner told me as if reading my mind.

I muttered a quick thanks before rushing into the bedroom to find Cassie sitting at the desk to the side, looking down at a really thick book. She's an archaeology major, and with so many civilizations to study, I'm surprised the book wasn't big enough to break the table.

"What'd she sound like? Where? And that time?" I asked quickly.

"Calm down Roy. You talk any faster and you'll sound like Bart," She told me as she continued to study her book. "She sounded fine, but a little nervous, it's at the small restaurant at her hotel, and you still have two hours to get ready. Although I'm sure you wanted to look your best, so that's why I asked Conner to wake you up."

"Thanks, Cassie. Try not to hurt your brain," I told her before dashing out the door. I grabbed my bag and pulled out a quick set of clothes before rushing to the bathroom.

"Don't use up all my hot water!" I heard Conner call after me.

Man, I felt like a teenager again. And not the one that had gone out on a date almost every night. No, it felt like my first date all over again.

After a quick shower I got dressed and brushed my hair-with a comb this time!-before putting on my blazer and straightening my tie.

I grinned as I looked at my reflection in the mirror.

"Oh, yeah. I look good!"

When I left the room I saw Dick and Conner sitting on the couch. Conner was watching the game while Dick was looking over a few old case files.

"Hey Roy. You look good," Conner said with a grin.

"But of course, you already knew that," Dick joked along with a smile as, he too, looked up at me.

Great. They heard me.

Hmm… I wonder how much a hotel room costs at the hotel Donna's staying at.

"Now, don't be out too late. You got work in the morning," Dick told me.

"And don't do anything we wouldn't do."

I smirked at that.

I finally left and walked leisurely to the hotel, it'd only take about ten minutes to get there if I ran, but since I still had a little over a half hour to kill, I took my time and stopped by a small flower shop to pick up a few roses. I didn't have that much money on me, so I could only get her four, but being a cop really doesn't pay much in the first place. Basically, I was lucky I could even pay for four.

As I put my wallet back in my blazer pocket, I could feel the cool metal of the gun I had hidden. Usually I keep at least three guns on me, but tonight I only brought two, just to show Donna I'm a little more relaxed tonight. The second one is tucked away in a holster on my leg. As for where I put the third one, well…you don't want to know.

By the time I had gotten to the hotel, I still had twenty minutes to spare. Cassie did tell me to meet Donna at the restaurant in her hotel, meaning I'd meet Donna there. Besides, knowing her, she'd need the next twenty minutes to finish getting ready.

I walked down to the restaurant to see what it was like. I knew it was a steak place, so I wasn't expecting anything too formal.

Damn, this place is fancy!

Why the hell would you need to pay twenty-five dollars for water? Where'd they import it from? Some spring in northern China?

Donna's definitely paying for this dinner! I mean, the chicken soup is fifty dollars!

Okay, when she gets down here, I'm gonna give her the flowers and tell her we can just skip dinner and go get some ice cream, or something, instead. That should save us both from going broke!

"Hey Roy!" I quickly turned, my eyes seeking out Donna; I'd recognize her voice anywhere. "Over here!"

Oh, there she is.

Damn. How could I not have noticed that giant fountain, there?

I smiled to her and we both started walking toward each other.

I held out the flowers and she smiled before taking them. We stood there in silence for a few minutes before I finally spoke.

"Hey," I said, trying my best to hide the nervous tone in my voice. I think I did a pretty good job of it.

Her smile widened. "Hey."

See, what'd I tell ya? We're both just like a couple of teenagers on a first date!

Is this even considered a first date?

"So, I was thinking-"

"Don't worry, Roy. Because of the exhibition, the museum's picking up my expenses. I can just charge dinner to my room, and neither of us will end up with a large bill," She told me.

Awesome! I'll be ordering two steaks then!

"Really? I was actually going to offer to pay, but…" I let my statement trail off with a smile. She shook her head, knowing I was lying, but laughed as well.

Dinner was good. We pretty much ate in silence. When it came time to order desert, I talked Donna into ordering the triple fudge cake of death. It wasn't really called that, but that's what it looked like so that's what I called it. A piece was like…seventy-five dollars, so we decided to get four. Two for now and two for later.

The piece the waiter had set in front of me was so huge, it felt like I gained fifteen pounds just looking at the damn thing!

Needless to say, I swallowed my piece down in a matter of minutes. I mean, it tasted too great not to eat that fast.

Of course, Donna only ate a bit of hers. She spent most of the time staring at it while lost in thought.

Huh. Girls. Don't want to eat a perfectly good piece of cake so they won't ruin their figure.

"Roy, about that kiss this afternoon…"

Boy, was I way off.

Hmm…I wonder if she can hold off this time for me to-

She rolled her eyes and pushed the cake over to me.

"You're almost as bad as Vic, y'know that?" She told me as I basically attacked the death cake.

Hey, I may be hungry but I'm also a gentlemen, so I swallowed before I answered, "No one's as bad as Vic, Donna," then returned to my cake.

I knew on the outside she looked annoyed, but I could see the laughter in her beautiful eyes.

Donna's a very… "planned-out" kind of person, while I'm definitely not. She's not the crazy type of organized person, though. She doesn't have like fifty calendars with every day scheduled. And when I say every day, I mean every day of their lives. Including the day they die!

She's definitely not that type of person by any means, but she does know what she wants to do with her life. She has ever since we were little kids. But, whenever we're together, nothing's ever planned out. I mean, I doubt up until that kiss she had planned on asking me to dinner-which I'm completely okay with, by the way. (Dinah and Donna pretty much liked to beat feminism into me, to try and counteract Ollie and Hal's…influence.)

I guess the point is, she does have a fun side, and I love that it comes out when she's mostly around me.

"Is that a sign that she like me too?"

"That who likes you too?"

Fuck! I gotta stop thinking out loud!

Well, this is probably as good a time as any to tell her how I feel. Besides, if she shoves this piece of cake in my face, at least I already know it's good enough to eat.

"Donna," I paused and sighed. Good thing the others aren't here to see me faulter. "…I really liked that kiss. To tell you the truth, I've wanted to kiss," and do a few more things to, "you, for a really long time now. See…" I looked down as I paused again. "I'm still in love with you."

Silence. Again.

See, now would be a good time for the waiter to come with the check and our last two pieces of cake.

"Roy." I looked up to see Donna smiling at me with…was that love in her eyes? "You wanna stay with me tonight?"

I grinned.

A/N: Okay, I know I said it was a one-shot, but it got pretty long so I decided to split it into two chapters. I think this one pretty much speaks for itself, don't you?

I hope you liked this one! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Going out with a BANG!

Chapter 2

Dick didn't mention I was still wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday. That's a true friend for you.

I smiled as I remembered what a great night it was. Donna loved me to! She'd never stopped! She just didn't love the me that was wasting money on drugs and drinks.

Too bad this happiness won't last long.

I had that dream again. That nightmare. That…premonition.

I'm gonna die. I know it. I can feel it.

I couldn't help but rub my arm in the same spot where it had been numb in my dream.

I don't what it was that stuck me…felt like…pins, maybe? Either way, it's what kills me. What brings me to everlasting darkness. That darkness is coming soon, and I'm the only one who knows.

What a great time for Donna and I to get back together, huh?

"No sign of a break," I told Dick as I finished inspecting the door.

"Report says that a maid was the only other person allowed in here," He replied as he flipped the page. "The one that usually checks the room wasn't in that day, though, and security cameras caught someone with dark black hair entering the room. She didn't leave and is now missing."

"Well, at least we have a suspect," I shrugged, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "The description match any of yours?"

"Jade Nguyen," He answered. "Dark hair and barely leaves anything behind. Barely. I'm sure if we check the bathroom we'll find something."

"The bathroom?"

Why the hell would she leave a clue in the bathroom?

"She's got a thing about cleaning up before kidnapping or killing someone."

"Of course," I said, rolling my eyes. "Even evil women have to check how they look every five minutes."

"Every two," He corrected me. I raised and eyebrow and he smirked. Why the hell does he always have to be right? "They have to look good for the cameras when they're making demands."

"Good point," I grinned. "So, top suspects?"

"Well, Baran and Selinda are on the list for possibly kidnapping Tim, and now Jade's on the list for Jason. Most likely a team up."

"Any ideas where they might be hiding?"

"Baran's an idiot who follows Selinda everywhere. He's with two girls that love shopping, jewelry, and dangerous weapons-"

"Deadly combination," I cut in.

"So, where do you think they'd be?" He continued.

He already knew the answer, but I still wanted to say, "Basement of the Metropolis mall. I'm not a detective, but I have taken down a lot of jewel thieves that hide in mall basements."

"It's a start," He told me as we both started for the door.

"Doesn't this seem familiar to you?" I asked him as we entered the elevator.

I shouldn't have. This was the elevator that…

Ryan Anders was Kory's little brother. He was a good kid. Kind of like Tim. A tag-along. They had gotten along well in the short time they had known each other.

In this hotel, a few years ago, he was kidnapped, then later found dead in Gotham. No one knows who his killer was. All the evidence and any leads were destroyed not to long after he had been found.

He was a good kid, whose life was cut too short.

At least I've had a few extra years to live.

After spending a while on the Indian reservation, I had become in tune with my dreams. I used to have nightmares, especially after hurting Donna the way I did. A shaman there had helped me interpret my dreams, and taught me how to do the same on my own. After mulling it over during a quick breakfast with Donna (I had my leftover piece of cake and it was good!), I realized what it all meant. The numbness signifying there would be only a short pain in my death and the never-ending darkness signifying that I would never wake up.

Whatever it is that kills me, I swear I won't go down without a fight!

Once we finally arrive at the mall, we go to check in with mall security. It's art of procedure. It's also part of the reason why I joined the bomb squad. There, procedure doesn't matter until after the fighting's done.

Time to play the fun old game of good cop-bad cop.

"Detective Dick Grayson," Dick immediately said as we entered the room. He pulled out my badge to show the woman behind the desk. Hmm. She didn't look all that bad. Real bony face, though. "My partner and I need access to the storage basement of this mall."

"I'll have to call my supervisor," She told him after looking at his badge. Of course. Pretty much all the women I've met that have some connection to the law are like that. Not that big a turn-on. They seriously need to learn to let loose and have fun.

"Call your supervisor and tell him to meet us down there if he has any problem with us being here," I told her, making sure to stare her straight in the eye. "Now, you may want to give us the key to the basement before my partner here takes it from you, and trust me, he won't be asking as nicely as me."

"Hello, Mr. Rinko? It's Jaime," She spoke into the phone. Nice name; bad call. "I have two police officers down here that refuse to see you and are demanding I allow them into the basement…" During the short pause Dick and I glanced at each other and I nodded to let him know I had the same plan in mind. "Okay."

She hung up and reached over to press the button on the side of her desk. I quickly grabbed her hand before it could reach the button.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I warned her again. She won't listen.

She pulled her hand out of mine and slammed it on the button.

Dick punched her in the face and she went flying into the wall. While I grabbed the keys for the elevator and called out "let's go," before took off out the door. I knew he was right behind me as we rushed to the other side of the mall and into the elevator, where we pretty much threw whoever was in it, out of it.

I quickly jammed the key into the odd slot, turned it, and we began our descent down to the basement.

I should have brought my third gun last night.

The basement was dark, but that wasn't really surprising. What was surprising was how jammed up it was. I thought they would at least organize things better for a mall basement.

I glanced around carefully, but Dick had the best vision. He could probably spot a fly a hundred yards away if he really tried.

"Nothing," He finally told me a few minutes later.

"Yeah, I don't see anything either." Man, this would be an awesome place to use nightvision goggles. Then maybe we would have spotted something. Forget the flashlight I brought. Nightvision goggles would be awesome to use. "I can't believe we went through that for nothing."

"C'mon let's duck behind the…giant clown head, and wait until the elevator comes back down," He told me.

Oh. That's a great hiding spot.

Once we got behind the stupid thing, though, it turned out to be really comfortable. There was something really cushiony on the ground.

"What the hell?" I whispered as I pulled out my flashlight again. Some pillows and rolled up blankets.

Now we're onto something.

"We missed 'em," Dick whispered back to me.

Yeah, it was pretty obvious they were gone, but this does show that we're on the right track. In the back of my mind, I could hear the elevator begin to descend but I was still looking for any clues they could have left behind.

Dick ended up finding it before me.

A silver lipstick container. Hmm…never seen this kind of lipstick container before. I mean, I've kissed a lot of girls, who each had on a different kind of lipstick. Some stand out better than others, but I can still tell the make. Never heard of this one before, though.

I pulled a handkerchief out of my pants pocket and passed it to Dick, who used to pick the container up. He folded the handkerchief over it, so it wouldn't get any fingerprints on it, and then he put it in his pocket.

Now's where the fun begins. Time to crack a few heads.

I shut off the flashlight again and we both crouched down and waited.

"Start looking for them," One of the guards ordered as they finally stepped out of the elevator. They all began tearing away at the wall of clutter and Dick and I were able to sneak out from behind the clown head and into the elevator. We closed the doors and pressed the button to go up to the main floor.

"Hopefully these guys were stupid enough to only leave a few people by the door and wait to call the cops," I told him. I knew I was wrong, but I had to say it anyway. It's like an unwritten law or something. The good cop's supposed to be the one to ask that. If bad cop did than it would just be completely wrong!

"You know you're damn wrong, right?" He replied, smirking.

"I'm hoping." Not really.

The doors opened and about twenty more security guards stood before us.

We both glanced at each other and smirked before jumping out into the wall of dark blue. I know the main goal was to get out without hurting anyone, but that's never gonna happen. Not with a group this big.

I gotta admit, a few of them are pretty tough to get through, but with a precise hit to a good pressure point, they go down easy. It's not size or strength, but skill that matters in a fight. I've got plenty of skill.

I finally broke through and followed Dick into a department store.

"We need to take off through one of the back doors," I whispered over to Dick as we both ducked behind a rack of coats.

Dick had to make a call to someone, and fast. I waited as he pulled out his cell phone and spoke through it quickly. Coast was clear, but it wouldn't stay that way for long. He's got to hurry.

Once he finished he nodded over to me. I quickly moved behind another rack of jackets and toward the fire alarm. We'd be able to make it out of here through the mad rush of people.

I put my hand in my jacket pocket, to keep any of my prints off the alarm, before finally setting the damn thing off. Almost immediately, everyone went rushing to the door and I quickly moved into the fray, making sure to keep my head ducked low so any nearby security guards wouldn't see me.

Once I was out, I waited for Dick, and when I spotted him we both took off running through the parking lot and to the street.

"You know where the exit to the highway is from here?" He asked me.

"Yeah, follow me," I told him as I took a left on the road and we started running up a small hill. We ended up running about two miles before we finally spotted Conner waiting for us on the side of the road.

He called Conner. Great.

We had to wait a few minutes for the traffic to be cleared long enough for us to cross the road. Then we pretty much jumped into Conner's car. Once he got in and took his seat, Dick told him, "Get us to your place. Fast."

"You guys are in trouble, aren't you?" He asked with a small smile and shake of his head.

"Just drive, Jock boy," I told him, using his nickname for him.

Conner's basically an all-star. Or at least he would have been if an injury hadn't finished off his career before it began. Now he's a coach, but still a huge sports buff. Sometimes it gets on Cassie's nerves.

…I'm gonna miss times like that.

Once we arrived, Conner opened the door and we saw Cassie and Donna staring at the TV. When Dick slammed it shut they finally looked up.

"What the hell did you two do?" Donna demanded as she stood up and glared at Dick and I.

Conner used that moment to try and slip behind us when Cassie called out to him. "Move one more step, Conner Kent, and I swear you'll be sleeping out in the _hallway_ tonight."

Bad move. Girls like Cassie and Donna pay real close attention to you when you're in trouble.

"Hey, I just picked 'em up," He instantly defended himself. Oh yeah, put the blame on us. It's not like you aren't an accomplice or anything. "They just called me up and told me to wait for 'em. Never even gave me a chance to ask any questions."

"If it was anyone _but_ them, I probably wouldn't believe you," Cassie said. Ha. She knows Dick and I too well.

I heard Dick sigh.

If he thinks they're the only problem we have, he is so wrong. But first I better start trying to appeal to the girls.

"We can explain," I said, holding up his hands. I know it was a weak defense but it was the best I got. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Phew.

Wait, no 'phew.' This is bad. I can just feel it.

"Oh, I'm sure you can, but it's obviously not us you'll be explaining to," Donna said, knowing full well who was knocking on that fucking door.

"Open up! M.C.P.D!" I heard Detective Sawyer call from outside it.

Cassie walked around us and opened the door herself. It seemed like half of the Metropolis police force was swarming us. How could this tiny apartment hold so many people?

The three of us ended up sitting on the couch and had a nice little chat with Detective Sawyer and her crew. It pretty much went: blah blah blah. Blah. Blah blah. And blah.

That lasted for about an hour.

Then, once Donna and I got back to her hotel room, she decided to have a nice one-sided chat with me too. That went along the lines of blah, blah, blah. You could have gotten yourself killed. Blah.

"She doesn't know how right she is about the 'killed' part," I whispered. Crap.

"What?" Donna asked, obviously hearing what I had said.

Me and my big mouth.

"I've got something really important to tell you, Donna," I finally said after a few minutes of silence. There was no point in trying to lie to her. She'd see right through me.

I took her hand in mine and led her over to a chair by the balcony and began to explain. I told her about how the shaman had taught me to interpret dreams while I had stayed on the reservation. I told her exactly what my dream had been these past few days and explained my interpretation of it to her. I told her how much I loved her and how much I'd miss her. That…whenever this dream does come true, I'll always watch over her, and that even once I'm dead, I want her to be happy. To find someone to love and care for her for the rest of her life. And…that I'd wait for her.

She'd been able to hold her tears back up until I explained the last few parts. That's when they began to cascade down her cheeks, and I could do nothing but hold and try to comfort her.

We stayed in the rest of the night and ordered in for dinner. We just spent most of the time in each other's arms, trying to make these moments last forever. I really wish they could.

We ended up going to bed pretty early, and I was finally awoken by the phone ringing past midnight. I rubbed my face for a moment before picking up.

"Hello?"

"Get up. I found them." Dick hung up after that.

I sat up and did my best to rub the sleep from my eyes before I finally got out of bed and went for my bag. I pulled a white button-up and a pair of black slacks out of the bag and changed into them quickly. Dick would be here soon.

"Don't say goodbye," I heard Donna whisper from the bed as I put two guns in a set of holsters on my hips. I looked over to find her sitting on the edge of the bed wearing the shirt I had been wearing earlier last night.

I slowly walked up to her and kissed her as passionately as I could, trying my best to memorize everything about her at this moment in time. The feel of her lips on mine. How soft her hair felt. Every wonderful curve on her perfect body. Everything about her.

I had to pull away when we heard someone banging on the door.

"I love you," She whispered to me, trying her best to be strong and not cry yet.

"I love you too. I always will." I gave her a soft smile and a quick kiss before heading toward the door.

As I slowly opened it, I glanced back at her to see her watching me. I smiled softly again, but I know there was sorrow in my eyes. I hid it quickly as I turned and closed the door behind me.

"What're we still standing here for?" I asked him jokingly. I had to lighten the mood somehow. "C'mon, let's go save your brothers."

I started for the elevator. If Dick knew about my dreams, he wouldn't let me help him. He's got this thing about people always getting hurt around him. Like he's a living curse or something. Truth is, if they die, it's probably just their time to go.

Just like right now is my time.

I can just feel it, and I'm ready for it. That's cause I know that if I'm going, I'm going my way.

We raced straight toward the lobby and once we got there, Dick quickly pulled out his badge to show the nice old guy behind the desk. Some part of Dick's mind is probably filing this guy under the 'Serial Killer' file in his head. He always thinks someone's up to something.

"Police, we're in the middle of an emergency and we need to borrow one of your rental cars," The old guy looked surprised for a few seconds but finally grabbed a set of keys and tossed 'em to Dick. "Thanks."

"He gave us one in the first aisle," Dick told me once we were outside and looking for the car. "Spot number eighty-three."

We found a brown Beetle in the spot and I jumped into the passengers' seat while Dick sat in the drivers' seat.

"Sawyer's gonna be pissed," I said with a wide grin. At least I get to annoy her one more time.

"I'm hopin," Dick replied as he raced over to wherever we were going.

"So how'd you figure out where they were?" I asked him and broke the silence.

"Arthur's good with electricity. When Selinda said he'd 'bake' Jason, I knew it meant he was going to use his knowledge of light and electricity to do it. To get enough energy to do that though, you'd need a lot of power, so I automatically thought of the Power Plant. But they wouldn't be stupid enough to actually stay in the Power Plant here, so it needed to be somewhere nearby. That's when I started paying attention to the background on the tape. Since the tape didn't last that long I had to try and catch something of importance. That's when I thought I had spotted a couple of cracks in the wall behind them. Now I know for a fact there aren't any businesses by the Power Plant, but I thought of apartment buildings for the people that work there. There were five, each a few stories high. Went back to look at the ones that were condemned, then found out which was closest to the plant. That's where they have to be."

"So, did you come up with a plan during this whole thing?"

"Yeah; wing it."

I rolled up his sleeves before leaning back in my seat. "My favorite type of plan."

"I figured you'd like it."

I laughed.

We arrived at A condemned building and Dick stopped a few yards away.

"You got a watch on you?" He asked me as he stared up at the dark building.

"Nope, usually go by an internal clock," I answered. The internal clock doesn't really help me though. I usually still lose track of time. "You know, my own time. Like I have five minutes to break in, and I count that out in the back of my head, y'know?"

"Yeah, I do the same. We should have at least ten minutes left. Alright. We'll go in two ways. You take the front, I'll take the back. That way you can distract them while I go get Jason and Tim."

"Works for me. I'll see if I can meet you up there." Like that was going to happen.

We went our separate ways. The next time he'd see me, I'd be dead. I just got this gut feeling that's how it's going to be, and I always trust my gut.

I slowly walked up the front door. I know they have security around this place. I've just got to set off the right trap to give Dick the extra time he needs.

I easily kicked the old, battered door in. I know it might grab their attention, but they could only think it's some punk instead of a cop. They know Dick would never come in like that. Of course, they don't know I'm here with him. It may give us only a light edge, but it's better than nothing.

Now that I've got their attention, time for me to pick my hiding spot.

One glance around the room and only one thought came to mind. Not much room around here, is there?

I pulled out both of my guns as I prepared for whoever was coming down. I ducked back behind an old, dusty blue chair. Just as I ducked behind it, a dark haired woman leaped into the room. Her jade eyes were taking everything in and, once she saw the broken door, she smirked.

Fuck. She's confident.

I smiled.

Let's see how well she is at dodging a few bullets.

Just as I cocked back the hammer on the gun in my left hand, she turned toward me.

The bitch has got good hearing. The click would have been barely audible to anyone else as far away from me as she was. Yet she turned, and her smirk turned into a wide grin before her hands moved behind her one instant, and the next she had thrown something toward the chair I was hiding behind.

I quickly cocked back the hammer on my other gun, stood up from my hiding spot and began to fire rounds at her.

What the fuck was this bitch made of? Rubber?

She easily avoided my bullets, pulled something out of her long black hair, and threw it at me. I moved my body, but quickly found out she wasn't really aiming for me but the barrel of the gun in my right hand. If I hit the trigger I'd end up hit with a huge backblast. That's not what kills me though, and I'm not gonna let it.

Instead, I threw the gun at her. I swung my arm to the side, throwing it like someone would throw a Frisbee or boomerang.

She ducked just in time and jumped out at me, but I swiftly moved away from the chair only to see something glinting on it.

She had thrown a couple of shurikens at me before.

Whoa! Where the hell did she suddenly get those blades? They look like Wolverines' claws, but just come from in-between her fingers and not the back of her hand.

She started slashing at me, but I quickly fired a round from the gun that was still in my left hand and it hit her in her right shoulder. Gotta move quickly now. She seems like she can shrug off a hit pretty fast.

I punched her in the face before sending another blow to her gut. I gotta keep the pressure on. If I make one wrong move, than she'll have the opportunity to get me.

I can't give her even an inch.

Out of nowhere, though, she found my blind spot and used it to her advantage. She brought up her set of "claws" and used the to rip my gun out of my left hand, before taking the opportunity to slash at my chest with her other hand, sending me reeling back.

Fuck, she's good.

She's definitely the one that's gonna kill me. Ain't no doubt about it. Especially with how many pointy objects she's used in just the past fifteen minutes. This really isn't going to last long. Of course, the best fights are always the hard ones. So, I guess time doesn't really matter. Just surprise!

She jumped again, and brought one hand back to stab me when she came down, but I took advantage of the other one being out in the open air. Grabbing it quickly, I used it to fling her across the room. And that's when it happened.

Just as she was pretty much flying toward the wall, she shot out a…needle. I saw it just in time to dodge, but she had pulled out about three more. I fell to the ground to try to avoid them and went for the gun the holster on my leg with my right hand.

When the last needle she sent out at me hit my arm-

BANG!

I…I got her…

A/N: Well, that's Roy's story. If anyone's wondering how he knows he killed Jade, he pretty much said it earlier. He trusts his gut feeling, and once he fired the gun, his gut was practically telling him he killed her.

Thanks for reading. I hope you all enjoyed it!


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